Excess Abdominal Fat | A Health Threat

Fat

Most people who hit the gym want to get rid of excess abdominal fat and expect flatter abs. At first glance we may think that its main purpose is to look good but behind it is actually an alarming health threat.

We may notice that most people who have excess abs fat are men but women are also affected and should be made aware of the danger it brings to one’s health. But this does not mean that just because your stomach fat is lesser compared to other people, it is still important that at an early stage you get rid of it. Some people may even may think that having excess abdominal fat looks unattractive and this is true but other than that, the health danger that goes with it should be acknowledged too. Getting rid of flabby stomach fats isn’t just about vanity.

Statistics

Let’s face it, whenever numbers on statistics are mentioned we tend to let it slip away. This may surprise you but almost ¾ of the population in western countries and even western-influenced countries belong to the growing number of obese or overweight people. This is a very alarming rate because being overweight imposes a person to be at high risks of developing health disease and chronic diseases.

Subcutaneous Fat and Visceral Fat:

Body fat 

The stored fat in our body is called according to where it is located. As for the abdominal area, there are two kinds of fats found here and they are the Subcutaneous Fat and Visceral Fat.

Subcuatenous Fat

Subcutaneous fat is the kind of fat that covers your abs from being visible and is found directly beneath the skin above the abdominal muscles. This kind of fat is found just below our skin and can be measured in order to give an estimated of the body’s total adiposity or fat. This type of fat aids insulation to slow heat loss which is part of the process of homeostasis.

Visceral Fat

Visceral fat is also termed as organ fat or intra-abdominal fat and is located at the abdominal area and is found in between organs. Compared to subcutaneous fat which can also be found on the hips and thigh area, visceral fat is only on the organs around the abdomen. Having too much visceral fat causes a person to have belly fat causing protrusion of the abdomen. Excess visceral fat predisposes a person to developing obesity, heart disease and is even linked to type-2 diabetes, insulin resistance and inflammatory diseases to name a few. Due to hormones, men are most likely to be seen with belly fat whereas women usually have fats stored in the hips, thighs and buttocks but nevertheless, there are still women who have protruding abdomens due to visceral fat.

How Is It Dangerous? 

As harmless as they may seem, both these two kinds of fats are dangerous to our health. But what we should take note here is that it is far more hazardous to have more visceral fat than subcutaneous fat. Although both of these kinds of fats expose a person to have higher risk of developing heart diseases, stroke, certain types of cancer and high blood pressure, visceral fat is more dangerous because according to studies it gives out more inflammatory molecules into our system on a steady basis.

Having too much stomach fat has been linked to high amounts of C-reactive protein or CRP. When CRP is found on a person’s body, this means that a person is suffering from an inflammation that can eventually lead to health problems.

How We Accumulate Visceral Fat:

Fat loss 

Visceral fat can be accumulated because of a high carbohydrate diet that can eventually lead to insulin resistance. Carbohydrates contain starch and sugars and when our bodies get too much of this, the body becomes incapable of handling high amounts of blood sugar. Another reason why some people accumulate high amounts of visceral fat is because of a diet that is high in fructose corn syrup.

Getting Rid of Abdominal Fat:

After understanding how visceral fats and subcutaneous fats can be harmful to our health, perhaps the best thing to find out about now is how to get rid of it. If you happen to not have too much stomach fat, then the best way to deal with it is to avoid it which can be done by eating a healthy and balanced diet.

Because there are so many products out there claiming to be the answer to the many weight problems that people are faced with, most people end up being fooled by those that claim to be the instant solution. First of all, if there was a quick fix to weight problems then no one would be obese and secondly, there is no such thing as “short cut” when it comes to losing fats especially in getting rid of abdominal fats.

The Solution

The root cause of why people end up having excessive abdominal fats have been explained already earlier and with that, it is apparent that the solution to ensure the loss of abdominal fat and maintain it is by having a diet that is full of nutrients. Consuming foods that are natural and unprocessed would be highly recommended too. Apart from a good diet, an effective and exercise program that can keep up with your metabolism should be included too and exercise should be done regularly. You will know that the exercise program you have with you is effective if it stimulates metabolic as well as hormonal response in your body.

Doing Away with Visceral Fat-

• High intensity exercise and Full-body resistance training

The use of high intensity exercise and full body resistance training will not directly remove the visceral fats that you have but they are ideally helpful when it comes to efficiently improve your body in managing your glucose and insulin levels which is a very important part in the removal of visceral fat. When you are engaged in high intensity exercises you activate hormones that burn fat and this includes visceral fat too.

• Controlled blood sugar

It was explained earlier that high intensity exercises and full body training exercises are effective aids in removing visceral fat and it has something to do with managing glucose and sugar levels. But a really good way of removing it is making sure that your blood sugar levels are within its normal levels. To do this, you must lower the intake of sugars and refined starches in your diet most especially high amounts of fructose corn syrup. Your diet should be centered on good fats and making sure you eat up enough amounts of fiber.

Belly fat 

Carbohydrates are great sources of energy but it can also be a source of starch and sugar once it enters our body so your best bet here is to get carbs from vegetables and fruits that are also excellent sources of fiber.

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